And louis h



Patented Sept. 2(4), Y1927.

l UNITED efraim-:sA

'PATENT OFFICE ALBERT D. GROVER, or NEW YORK, AND LoUrs H. BERTRAM, orLONG ISLAND CITY, j.

' NEW Yoiax. A

ARMRnsT non BANJos.

Application ined' :rune 19,

Our invention relates to certain'new and useful improvements inv armrestsfor banjos and has for its object to provide an articl-e `of thischaracter which is attractive in appearance: and which is readilyattachable 4to the instrument without dismantling the straining screwsor other parts of the banjo. We have accomplished this object by meansof a construct-ion hereinafter described and set forth in the claims,and illustratively exemplified in the. laccompanying drawing, in which,Figure 1 is a plan view rof a banjo head equipped with our improved armrest; Figure 2 is a side view ofthe same; VFigure 3 is ay fragmentarysectional view` of the rim and supporting bracket for the arm rest takenon lines 3-3 of FigureV 2; Figure 4 is a. substantially transversesectional view ofl the rim and armv rest taken on lines 4--4 of Figure2; and Figure` is a transverse sectional view of a modified embodimentof the arm rest.

Referring to the drawings.xr 10 designates the banjo head comprising theusual rim 11,

hoops 12 and straining screws 13, the latter being adjustable inbrackets 14 carried radially of the rim 11. The usual arm 15 projectsfrom the rim 11 at one side of the head 10 and disposed at the oppositeside or bottom of the rim is a tail piece. 16 from which the strings 17project towards the arm 15.

The. foregoing is a brief description of the usual banjo constructions,which vary only in the type and size of the straining screws andbrackets, and in the distance between the screws. According to thepres-ent invention we have illustrated our improved arm rest on the leftside of the tail piece 16, so as to afford all the necessary protectionand support to the arm o-f the artist. The arm restcomprises a curvedpiece of metal 18, which is angular in cross section, and which isadapted to be superposed over the edge of the head 10, as illustrated.in Figures 1 and 4. The rest is virtually composed of a sid-ewall 19 andtop plate 20, the former having a pair of spaced depending portions 21provided with slots 22, which are adapted, when the rest is in place, tooverly two ofthe straining screws 13 atan elevation `just above theposition of the brackets 14, as illustrated in Figure 2. The portions 21areutilized to secure the rest to the instrument andl for this purposewe insert a screw 23 through .gold or silver, and'it has'been found that1926. `,serial No. 117,010.;

which comprises a straight mid-portion to receive the screw 23 andcurved end por- .tions 25,1one 4thereof being adapted to partly afterrelatively short; usage the Vplating wears off and exposes the basemetal. This condition is particularly true ofthe surface of the head `ortop ,plate 20, because'of the constant rubbing-received 'by contact withythe arm andsleeveof the. artist.

In order tovavoi'd contact with the metal we propose to 1 depress the-inncrsurface ofthetop plate 20 to receive an insert 26 composed ofapiece of fibre, cellnloid` tortoise shell, 'pearl or any other suitablematerial. The insert 26, is a `curved flat blank m'ade to fit snugly inthe depression 27 in the top plat-c, the marginal portion thereof beinedisposed at a height jus-t below the top surface of the insert,asillustrated in Figure 4.

It will be clear that for use in connection with the cheaper grades ofinstruments` the depression in the top plate 20 and insert 26 will beomitted leaving a perfectly plain surface as illustrated in Figure 5. i

To apply the arm rest according to the present invention, the slots22are brought into register with the strainingscrews selected to supportthe arm rest. A curved portion 25 of the clamp plate 24 is insertedbehind the straining hook 13 and a` screw 23 projected through the slot22 and tightened in the clamp whereupon the latter secures the plate andscrew or hook together. The essential advantage of the clampingarrangement, aside from the attaching featurejis in its possibleverticaland lateral adjustment for the arm rest, since it is merelynecessary to loosen the screws 23 in order to shift the whole rest to ahigher or lower elevation and towards or away from the tail piece.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is :f-

ies j l. An ,arm rest for a banjo having spaced straining screwsdisposed about the head, comprising an integral plate for the .edge Yofthe instrument, Aand means attachably iconnecting the plate to thestraining screws and capable of peripheral adjustment With respect tothe head to accommodate the Spacing between screws.

2. An arm rest for a banjo, .comprising an integral plate tor the edgeof the instrument. and having a recessed portion projecting over thehead of the banjo, and an 4insert disposed in said recessed portion toaccommodate the arm .of the artist.

3. An arm rest for a banjo, comprising an integral plate for the edge ofthe instr-ument and having a recessed portion projecting over the headof the banjo, an insert disposed in .said recessed portion toaccommodate the arm ot the arti-st, and clamping means operating toattachably and adjustably support the plate on the instrument.

V l-An arm rest for a banjo, comprising an integral plate which isangular in transverse section and curved from vend to end to .conform tothe periphery of the banjo, one portion of the plate being recessed andoverlying the head of the instrument, an insert for said recess, theother portion of the plate having slotted projections disposed over thestraining hooks of the banjo, and .clamping means engaging the straininghooks and lprojections to attachably and adjustably support the arm reston the instrument.

5. An arm rest for a banjo comprising an angular plate Acurved from endto end-to c011- form to the periphery oit the banjo, one arm of theplate overlying the head of the instrunientbeing recessed below themarginal portion of the arm, an insert of wear resisting materialAcut-.to contorni to the sha-pe of the `recess in the arm and having a.thickness substantially greater than the depth of the recess, said-insert being disposed in ysaid recess.

6. 4An arm rest for a banjo, comprising an integr-al angular platecurved from end to end to conform to the periphery 'of the banjo, onearm of the plate overlying the rim of the` instrument being providedwith spaced projections having slots disposed longitudinally ot theplate, said slotted projections overlying the straining hooks of thebanjo, and clamping means operating to attachably and adjustably supportthe Arest on the straining hooks, said means comprising screwsadjustably disposed in the slots i in the projection, and clampingplates to receive thescrews and having their ends embracing thestraining hools to clamp the latter and projections together.

In testimony whereof We aliix our signatures.

ALBERT D. GRVER. LOUIS H. BERTRAM.

